Liverpool vs Swansea Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man + Predicted Score

Liverpool play host to Swansea City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon looking to close in on the top three.

The Reds currently sit three points clear in fourth but are now four adrift of third placed Manchester City and six behind leaders Chelsea after the top three all won on Saturday afternoon.

Brendan Rodgers men were dumped out of the FA Cup last week after losing 2-1 at Arsenal so they will be fully focussed on securing Champions League football next season during the remaining 12 games.

The hosts are unbeaten in their last seven league games and have a formidable home record, with Southampton the only side to win at Anfield this season, so they should be confident of picking up all three points tomorrow.

Swansea head into the game having won one and drawn two of Garry Monk’s first four games in charge since he replaced Michael Laudrup, so the defender – who used to play under Rodgers at the Liberty Stadium – will be hoping to build on that solid start.

The Welsh outfit are currently four points clear of the drop zone following Saturday’s fixtures and should be confident following an excellent showing in midweek that saw them hold Italian giants Napoli to a 0-0 draw in the Europa League.

Team News

Liverpool have no fresh injury worries to contend with so Rodgers isn’t likely to tinker too much with his line-up.

Daniel Agger made a successful return from injury last week so is expected to retain his place in defence alongside Martin Skrtel while Glen Johnson is available again having missed the last four weeks with niggling injuries.

The return of the England international at right-back could see Jon Flanagan switch to left-back in place of the inconsistent Aly Cissoko.

Jordan Henderson is likely to come back in for Joe Allen in midfield while Simon Mignolet will be restored in goal after being rested against the Gunners last week. Lucas Leiva, Jose Enrique and Mamadou Sakho are all still out through injury.

Swansea picked up no fresh injuries from their European exploits in midweek. Jonjo Shelvey came off the bench on Thursday and could come back in after recovering from a hamstring strain.

However, Spanish striker Michu is still working his way back to full fitness and isn’t expected to feature tomorrow.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Daniel Sturridge: The England forward is in red-hot form of late, scoring in each of his last seven league fixtures, so he’ll certainly be the man, along with his strike partner Luis Suarez, that Swansea will need to pay close attention to.

Predicted Score

Liverpool 3-0 Swansea: The Reds have been excellent for most of the season on home soil and with their potent strike-force, we can’t see anything other than a Liverpool win.

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